Currently we have our stored fruit and vegetables in a covered area in our back garden between our conservatory and our neighbours wall. It is sheltered from the rain and warmer than the garden but still open to the weather. We have our potatoes in sacks, our pumpkins, squash, courgettes and cucumbers in boxes, onions, shallots and garlic in trays and apples in a box too. Last weekend when I went to fetch some potatoes for dinner I noticed that two of the potatoes in the bag had nibble marks in them. I concluded this was probably from mice so I moved the bag up to a higher shelf. Unfortunately, the next morning I noticed nibble marks in the apples instead! And there was no more room on the higher shelf. My husband had two more shelves to screw to the wall but I figured it would be quicker to use up the apples instead so I decided that this week would be my use up apples weeks.
I started on Monday by making summer fruit jam - apples with strawberries and raspberries from the freezer. This is my youngest daughter's favourite jam and I have to admit that it is delicious! On Tuesday I made apple and blackcurrant jam with a pound of blackcurrants from the freezer. Unfortunately, also on Tuesday I was struck by a cold. Don't you just hate them...? They make you feel lousy but you still feel obliged to carry on as normal.
I had a bad day on Wednesday. It started cold and I was a bit worried that there might have been a frost and I wondered if my tomatoes were OK. But I had no time to go and check. I had to wait in for an important parcel so decided that it would be a good day to make a batch of brown sauce. By now my cold was taking its toll so I wasn't feeling my usual cheery self. Brown sauce isn't too tricky to make but it does need time to evaporate to the correct thickness. That meant I had to start shortly after dropping my girls off at school if it was to be finished before I had to collect them again at the end of school. However, my husband had worked until the early hours of the morning and was still in bed. I don't like to cook chutney when there is anyone else in the house because they tend to moan about the smell. I can imagine it can be unpleasant if you are trying to tuck into your cornflakes in a kitchen filled with vinegar fumes. He appeared in the kitchen for his breakfast shortly after I added the vinegar to the sauce. I had opened the conservatory doors but he complained that it was freezing and closed them again whilst he ate. Eventually he sloped off to work and I opened the doors again.
The sauce bubbled and the day past but the parcel didn't turn up and it was time to pick up the girls but the sauce wasn't thick enough. I bottled it anyway, hoping it would be thick enough when it cooled (it didn't!). Then later that day I noticed that the lettuce, French beans and peas on the conservatory windowsill were looking a bit droopy but when I went to water them they were still damp. It took a couple of hours for me to slowly realise that I had poisoned my plants with the vinegar fumes!
What a day! No parcel, brown sauce that is too thin and poisoned plants!
Still, by this weekend my cold was all but gone and I was feeling my usual level of optimism. But I was still wondering if there had been a frost on Wednesday. Around on the allotment it was clear that there hadn't been a frost. However, we decided it was time to bring in the remaining tomatoes. I cut all the tomato trusses off and composted the plants. Back home, my husband rigged up a "line" using bungees and clips across the conservatory and we strung the tomato trusses up on it. My daughters thought this looked a little strange but we decided they made a lovely harvest festival garland and they liked that idea.
As for the apples, the mouse hasn't been back since and now all that this left is just enough apples to add to a big batch of green tomato chutney. Guess what I'll be making next week!
Summer fruits jam
1 lb (454g) strawberries
4 oz (110g) raspberries
1 lemon
2 lb (900g) apples
16 fl oz (450ml) water
3 lb (1350g) sugar
NB: Every pound of apples requires 8 oz (225g) strawberries, 2 oz (55g) raspberries, half a lemon, 8 fl oz (225ml) water and 1 lb 8 oz (680g) sugar.
Cooked the strawberries and raspberries with the lemon juice and about 4 fl oz (100ml) of water for a few minutes until soft. Pour into a jelly bag and allow to drip until cool then squeeze the juice through. Peel, core and chop the apples and cook with the remaining water until soft and pulpy. Add the red fruit puree then the warmed sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil vigorously until set. Pour into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Apple and Blackcurrant Jam
2 lb (900g) apples
1 lb (454g) blackcurrants
15 fl oz (425ml) water
3 lb (1350g) sugar
Bring the blackcurrants and water to the boil then simmer whilst you prepare the apples. Peel, core and slice the apples then add them to the pan. Cook until the fruit is soft and pulpy (roughly 40 minutes for the blackcurrants and 20 minutes for the apples). Add the warmed sugar and stir thoroughly until dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until set. Ladle into warmed jars and seal.
Brown Sauce
4 lb ( 1815g) apples
1 lb (454g) plums
2 large onions
2 pints (1300ml) water
3 pints (2000 ml) malt vinegar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 oz (55g) salt
2 lb (900g) light brown sugar
Peel and core the apples and cut into pieces. Halve and remove the stones from the plums and cut into pieces. Peel the onion and finely chop. Put the fruit and vegetables into a preserving pan and pour in the water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-20 minutes until the fruit is soft and pulpy. Blend in batches until smooth in a blender then return the puree to the preserving pan. Add all the other ingredients and bring back to the boil then simmer until thick. Remove from the heat and transfer into warmed bottles and seal immediately.
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Planning ahead
When fruit and vegetables are cropping abundantly, as they do at this time of the year, it is easy to find yourself living in the here and now, dealing with the gluts as quickly as possible to process it before harvesting yet more. Planning ahead under these circumstances can mean simply deciding which order to make the preserves in in order to use the fruit and vegetables before they go over.
This week I had both apples and plums vying for my immediate attention as the fruit ripened to the point of falling off the trees. Any picked fruit rapidly went mouldy in the late summer warmth. So on Tuesday I made hot and spicy plum chutney, on Wednesday apple and ginger jam, Thursday confetti relish and Friday brown sauce.
With so much time spent in the kitchen it is hard to find time for the garden but time must be found or the last of the growing season will be wasted. It amazes me every year how quickly the weather changes. Very quickly, with the shortening of the day length, the temperatures drop sharply at night and gradually fail to warm much during the day. Still, the soil is warm and anything sown will germinate quickly so there is the chance of a few weeks of growth before the frosts.
So today I took a break from the kitchen and sowed some quick growing peas and beans in small troughs and put them on my conservatory windowsill. I also sowed a tray of salad leaves for the windowsill too. The conservatory is north facing so doesn't get a lot of light but hopefully they will grow just a bit beyond the frosts when the other beans and peas have succumbed. I've not tried it before so we'll just have to wait and see but my conservatory tomatoes did extremely well in the spring so I'm hopeful.
Tomorrow will be time to get in some autumn onion sets and a few winter leaves such as corn salad, spinach, hardy lettuce, land cress and leaf beet. And hopefully when the current glut is bottled, frozen and eaten I will be grateful for my forward planning and will be able to continue to harvest fresh vegetables.
Hot and Spicy Plum Chutney
2 lb (900g) plums
1½ pints (1 litre) white wine vinegar
1½ lb (675g) granulated sugar
1 dessert spoon of Lazy Chilli (prepared chilli in a jar)
2 oz (55g) garlic (crushed)
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 oz (25g) salt
De-stone and chop the plums. Cook the plums in vinegar until soft. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about one and a half hours until thick. Ladle into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Apple and Ginger Jam
3 lb (1400 g) apples
16½ fl oz (450 ml) water
3 lb 6 oz (1570 g) sugar
6 oz (170 g) stem ginger
3 tbsp stem ginger syrup
NB: Every pound of apples requires 1 lb 2 oz sugar, 5½ fl oz water, 2 oz stem ginger and 1 tbsp ginger syrup.
Peel, cut the apples into quarters and core. Place in a preserving pan with the water and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer the apples for about 10 minutes until they are soft and pulpy. In the meantime warm the sugar and cut the stem ginger into small pieces. Once the fruit is cooked add the sugar, ginger and the syrup to the fruit and stir over a low heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Boil rapidly for 5 to 8 minutes until the setting point in reached. Ladle into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Confetti Relish
2 lb (900g) courgette
1 large onion
2 oz (55g) red cabbage
Salt
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 handful of loose sweetcorn
2 teaspoons of celery seeds
2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
2 teaspoons of mustard powder
1 lb (450g) light brown sugar
15 fl oz (425ml) white wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons cornflour
Ground black pepper
Use a food processor to finely chop the courgettes, onion and red cabbage. Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, layered with salt and stand over night. Drain the water and rinse the vegetables. Pat dry with kitchen paper then place in a preserving pan. Chop the peppers and add these and all of the other ingredients to the preserving pan. Place jars in a cool oven. Heat the mixture and stir constantly until thick then transfer into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Brown Sauce
4 lb ( 1815g) apples
1 lb (454g) plums
2 large onions
2 pints (1300ml) water
3 pints (2000 ml) malt vinegar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 oz (55g) salt
2 lb (900g) light brown sugar
Peel and core the apples and cut into pieces. Halve and remove the stones from the plums and cut into pieces. Peel the onion and finely chop. Put the fruit and vegetables into a preserving pan and pour in the water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-20 minutes until the fruit is soft and pulpy. Blend in batches until smooth in a blender then return the puree to the preserving pan. Add all the other ingredients and bring back to the boil then simmer until thick. Remove from the heat and transfer into warmed bottles and seal immediately.
This week I had both apples and plums vying for my immediate attention as the fruit ripened to the point of falling off the trees. Any picked fruit rapidly went mouldy in the late summer warmth. So on Tuesday I made hot and spicy plum chutney, on Wednesday apple and ginger jam, Thursday confetti relish and Friday brown sauce.
With so much time spent in the kitchen it is hard to find time for the garden but time must be found or the last of the growing season will be wasted. It amazes me every year how quickly the weather changes. Very quickly, with the shortening of the day length, the temperatures drop sharply at night and gradually fail to warm much during the day. Still, the soil is warm and anything sown will germinate quickly so there is the chance of a few weeks of growth before the frosts.
So today I took a break from the kitchen and sowed some quick growing peas and beans in small troughs and put them on my conservatory windowsill. I also sowed a tray of salad leaves for the windowsill too. The conservatory is north facing so doesn't get a lot of light but hopefully they will grow just a bit beyond the frosts when the other beans and peas have succumbed. I've not tried it before so we'll just have to wait and see but my conservatory tomatoes did extremely well in the spring so I'm hopeful.
Tomorrow will be time to get in some autumn onion sets and a few winter leaves such as corn salad, spinach, hardy lettuce, land cress and leaf beet. And hopefully when the current glut is bottled, frozen and eaten I will be grateful for my forward planning and will be able to continue to harvest fresh vegetables.
Hot and Spicy Plum Chutney
2 lb (900g) plums
1½ pints (1 litre) white wine vinegar
1½ lb (675g) granulated sugar
1 dessert spoon of Lazy Chilli (prepared chilli in a jar)
2 oz (55g) garlic (crushed)
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 oz (25g) salt
De-stone and chop the plums. Cook the plums in vinegar until soft. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about one and a half hours until thick. Ladle into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Apple and Ginger Jam
3 lb (1400 g) apples
16½ fl oz (450 ml) water
3 lb 6 oz (1570 g) sugar
6 oz (170 g) stem ginger
3 tbsp stem ginger syrup
NB: Every pound of apples requires 1 lb 2 oz sugar, 5½ fl oz water, 2 oz stem ginger and 1 tbsp ginger syrup.
Peel, cut the apples into quarters and core. Place in a preserving pan with the water and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer the apples for about 10 minutes until they are soft and pulpy. In the meantime warm the sugar and cut the stem ginger into small pieces. Once the fruit is cooked add the sugar, ginger and the syrup to the fruit and stir over a low heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Boil rapidly for 5 to 8 minutes until the setting point in reached. Ladle into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Confetti Relish
2 lb (900g) courgette
1 large onion
2 oz (55g) red cabbage
Salt
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 handful of loose sweetcorn
2 teaspoons of celery seeds
2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
2 teaspoons of mustard powder
1 lb (450g) light brown sugar
15 fl oz (425ml) white wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons cornflour
Ground black pepper
Use a food processor to finely chop the courgettes, onion and red cabbage. Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, layered with salt and stand over night. Drain the water and rinse the vegetables. Pat dry with kitchen paper then place in a preserving pan. Chop the peppers and add these and all of the other ingredients to the preserving pan. Place jars in a cool oven. Heat the mixture and stir constantly until thick then transfer into warmed jars and seal immediately.
Brown Sauce
4 lb ( 1815g) apples
1 lb (454g) plums
2 large onions
2 pints (1300ml) water
3 pints (2000 ml) malt vinegar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 oz (55g) salt
2 lb (900g) light brown sugar
Peel and core the apples and cut into pieces. Halve and remove the stones from the plums and cut into pieces. Peel the onion and finely chop. Put the fruit and vegetables into a preserving pan and pour in the water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 10-20 minutes until the fruit is soft and pulpy. Blend in batches until smooth in a blender then return the puree to the preserving pan. Add all the other ingredients and bring back to the boil then simmer until thick. Remove from the heat and transfer into warmed bottles and seal immediately.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
On my soap box
I watched Countryfile on Sunday evening as we ate our roast chicken with all homegrown vegetables... ah... gives you a warm feeling of righteousness, doesn't it?! Anyway, one article was about British apples. Apparently as recently as the 1970s sixty percent of the apples sold in this country were grown in the UK. Now that percentage is a mere 10. That's a bit shocking. British apples are in season between September and April so at this time of year there should be no excuse. My own apple tree is heavily laden with ripening fruit. Being an early cropper the apples don't store well so I have to process them in some way to preserve them. Bad timing really given the simultaneous cropping of my plums, not to mention all those cucurbits! Still, I'll not grumble and I'll not be beaten either. It is food and it will be eaten!
This week also saw the first gardening club of the year at my daughters' primary school. After 7 weeks of complete neglect the garden was looking surprisingly good and we even have a small pumpkin growing. Anyway, with the apple issue still nagging away in my head I saw an opportunity to educate a handful of children on the importance of eating seasonally and locally. It's not on the national curriculum but it is important and in an after school club I don't have to worry too much about what I'm teaching them.
So I took to school a bagful of fruit and vegetables from my allotment and showed them just what could be grown in Britain at this time of year. A few of them had never tasted plums or beetroot before and some were surprised that cucumber could be grown in your garden. I took in a Union Jack too and Sue provided a bag of British apples with its Union Jack labelling and we talked about seasons, seasonal and food miles. OK, the children are only 6 years old but hopefully they will go home and nag their parents the next time they are in the shops. Let's hope that next time they choose a bag of apples it is because they are attracted to the Union Jack on the label and not the Disney character!
This week also saw the first gardening club of the year at my daughters' primary school. After 7 weeks of complete neglect the garden was looking surprisingly good and we even have a small pumpkin growing. Anyway, with the apple issue still nagging away in my head I saw an opportunity to educate a handful of children on the importance of eating seasonally and locally. It's not on the national curriculum but it is important and in an after school club I don't have to worry too much about what I'm teaching them.
So I took to school a bagful of fruit and vegetables from my allotment and showed them just what could be grown in Britain at this time of year. A few of them had never tasted plums or beetroot before and some were surprised that cucumber could be grown in your garden. I took in a Union Jack too and Sue provided a bag of British apples with its Union Jack labelling and we talked about seasons, seasonal and food miles. OK, the children are only 6 years old but hopefully they will go home and nag their parents the next time they are in the shops. Let's hope that next time they choose a bag of apples it is because they are attracted to the Union Jack on the label and not the Disney character!
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